Plant on Facebook survives when you 'like' it

Meet Eater is an online project by University of Queensland, Australia, student Bashkim Isai. The page for Meet Eater currently has more than 5,800 "likes" and it says the plant's mission is to "become the tallest, strongest and most popular plant in the world." If you like the plant on Facebook, it gets watered. (Facebook Group Photo)

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QMI Agency

Sep 15, 2010

, Last Updated: 2:49 PM ET

A plant that people can water and give nutrients to by becoming a fan of it on Facebook is in it's third incarnation after users killed it.

“Meet Eater relies on its Facebook fans to keep it alive — the better the quality of conversations and posts left for Meet Eater, the more likely the garden is to respond,” University of Queensland, Australia, student Bashkim Isai said in a release.

He started the project two months ago and it received a huge spike in users after receiving media attention.

“My fan base rose from 900 to 4500 within five days," he said.

“I am very pleased with the increased number of posts, but it is interesting that since Meet Eater became ‘famous' the quality of posts and conversations has decreased," he added. “People used to ask meaningful questions and had great conversations with Meet Eater, but now it seems there are many more generic posts."

But the news agency AFP said too many fans let to the plant being "over-loved" and it has died twice from having too much stimulation. Isai, 22, has made the third version of Meet Eater "much more water tolerant" and he has adjusted the automatic programme to lower the water levels.

The page for Meet Eater currently has more than 5,800 "likes" and it says the plant's mission is to "become the tallest, strongest and most popular plant in the world."

The Meet Eater project is exploring the notion of “affectionate computing” where objects are affected by human moods or given moods of their own.

“I envisage a future where computing has more meaning in our lives, where we do not hunch over a PC in order to realize the power of the Internet," Isai said.